"You reminded me, how much did it cost in total? I'll give it to you," Bling suddenly asked.
Mulberry was a little annoyed. Why was the little black girl being so calculating with him? "It's free!"
Buling paused in taking out his money, then withdrew his hand and said casually, "Never mind, you'll be staying here anyway."
Sang Shen was immediately appeased by those words: "You're right, I'll be living here too." He spoke confidently, but his earlobes were burning red.
Bling pretended not to see it, secretly laughing to herself. So easy to fool, so innocent; she discovers a little virtue in him every day.
After the two finished dinner, Sangshen didn't stay long. He left the bowls for Buling to wash and went back to his room.
That evening, Bling boiled a pot of water on the stove, took a comfortable bath, and snuggled into bed. Feeling warm and cozy under the covers, she didn't even need a thermos anymore and quickly drifted off to sleep.
It's still most comfortable to live in my own little nest.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and time flies by. In the blink of an eye, it's already December, and there's only one month left until the Lunar New Year. The compound has been quiet lately, probably because the machine factory has been putting in continuous overtime work, and nobody's in the mood for causing trouble.
Today is the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the day for distributing winter vegetables. Just like distributing grain, every household gets up in the middle of the night, bundled up tightly, and heads to the food distribution center.
Sangshen somehow got hold of a cart and pushed it alongside Buling. He had arranged with Buling that his winter vegetables would be stored in Buling's cellar, since Buling didn't cook often in his room anyway, which would be convenient.
The residents of the compound all followed Sangshen, not because he had any particular influence, but because the entire compound depended on his handcart. Today was the day when residents of the whole county were buying winter vegetables, and handcarts were in high demand throughout the county; even the handcarts from the surrounding villages had been almost all borrowed.
Only mulberries were available; at least they could get a cartload. Otherwise, they'd have to carry them home bit by bit—that would be so tiring!
When they arrived at the grocery store, there was a queue, and everyone took turns waiting in line. When it was their turn, the men from the compound all went up to carry the food, and they didn't make way for others until everyone in their compound had bought their food.
It's a little bit unethical to do this, but it's so delicious!
Winter storage vegetables are all Chinese cabbage. In Hebei Province, everything follows the example of the three northeastern provinces; every household pickles sauerkraut in winter, so Chinese cabbage is the most practical vegetable.
It's also calculated per person: an adult weighs 200 jin (100 kg), a child weighs 50 jin (25 kg), and Buling and Sangshen together weigh 400 jin (200 kg). Don't be fooled by the large number; it's actually only about 60 cabbages.
The cart was only so big, and since Sangshen owned it, he was the first to use it. He loaded his and Buling's carts, then loaded Aunt Tian and her grandson's, and then Aunt Mo and her husband's, and the cart was full.
"We'll go back first, and come back to bring you the cart later," Sangshen said.
No one else had any objections, and even if they did, they dared not voice them, for what if they angered the mulberry trees and they were no longer allowed to use the carts?
The three families consisted of only two able-bodied men. Along the way, Sang Shen and Yu Dabao took turns pulling the cart, while the women helped push from behind. They finally arrived home, the two men drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
Buling quickly went back into the house and poured a cup of brown sugar water for one of them. "Drink some hot water quickly. Leave the rest to us. You don't need to worry about it. Go back to your room and wipe your sweat. Don't catch a cold."
"Xiao Bu is right, we can handle this. You guys take a break."
Yu Dabao: "No, let's finish unloading together sooner. We still need to deliver carts to the other people in the yard; they're waiting."
Sister-in-law Mo: "Go back inside and wipe your sweat before you come out. It's so cold, you'll catch a cold if the wind blows."
Comrade Yu Dabao immediately did as instructed.
Seeing this, Mulberry glanced at the little black girl.
Bling immediately understood, went back inside to get a towel, and handed it to him: "Wipe your sweat, don't catch a cold." Men are so childish, even this has to be a competition.
Mulberry was satisfied. She took the towel from Little Black Girl, wiped her sweat, and smelled the fragrance. Her ears turned red; it was a towel Little Black Girl had used.
Aunt Tian and Sister Mo, being experienced women, saw the two young people like this and didn't disturb them, quietly carrying the vegetables.
Seeing this, Bu Ling immediately went to help, and Sang Shen also reacted. Together with Yu Da Bao, the five of them worked together and soon unloaded a whole truckload of cabbages.
The cabbages were divided into three piles based on the number of heads counted when they were loaded onto the truck. As for the different sizes of the cabbages, none of the three families were petty; they were content with the approximate size.
"I'll go deliver the cart to them." After unloading, without even taking a breath, Yu Dabao pushed the cart out.
"I'm going too." Mulberry could only follow.
After watching the two men leave, Buling and her two companions didn't rest much; they still had a lot to do. They each carried their own bunch of cabbages into the house, and then put them in the cellar.
These days, every household living in a single-story house has a cellar, mainly for storing vegetables in winter. Even someone like Buling, who found out later, dug a small one.
Bling moved her and Sangs's share into the house, to the entrance of the cellar. She closed the door, put all the cabbages piled on the ground into her spatial storage, then went down into the cellar and took the cabbages out again.
She clapped her hands. How easy! If there hadn't been people outside, she wouldn't have had to struggle to carry everything inside. With her spatial ability, it would have been done in a matter of minutes.
After cleaning the cabbages, Bling left the cellar, closed the entrance, took one she had deliberately set aside, lit a fire to cook a big pot of vegetables, and then took a nap after eating her fill—she had taken a day off anyway.
Sangshen returned once again, covered in sweat. Buling immediately opened the door and said, "Sangshen, don't go. Let Tiehe and Brother Wu deliver it."
Mulberry had the same idea; he was exhausted from the last two trips, and he immediately agreed when Buling called upon him.
Brother Wu wanted to say something, but Aunt Wu tugged at him, preventing him from speaking.
Mulberry went inside and closed the door.
"Here, have something to warm up." Buling handed him some food.
Mulberry was really hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony and sat down to wolf down her food.
Outside, Yu Dabao was called into the house by his wife, leaving only Brother Wu and Tie He, two men. Tie He didn't seem to care, but Brother Wu's expression wasn't so pleasant.
"Boss, you and Xiao Tie take the cart back together," Aunt Wu instructed.
"Let Tie go alone, I'm quite tired." - Brother Wu
"Just go when I tell you to!" Aunt Wu scolded him. How dare he say such a thing?
Tiehe didn't get involved; he was honest and not stupid. Besides, this was his girlfriend's brother, so he couldn't say anything. Luckily, Aunt Wu was reasonable enough to force Brother Wu to go.
Another busy day has passed, and all the winter-stored vegetables have been taken to the cellar.
In the following days, the women in every household started pickling sauerkraut. Buling didn't know how, but she would learn. However, first she had to buy another jar for pickling sauerkraut.
There are quite a few things you need for daily life at home.
After the vat arrived, before Bling could even begin to act, Sangshen intercepted him and took full control of everything.
Bling: Okay!
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